First off, this is a topic I am so passionate about it will be posted on my non-gaming blog as well. I woke up this morning and read a post from Belghast from my Twitter gaming feed. So far nothing unusual there but the first half of his post made me grind my teeth which is unusual. In response to a blog piece written by someone he follows, he re-tweeted the blog twice and there was some long involved Twitter chatter about it yesterday.

All well and good, nothing abnormal so far but then apparently the chatter devolved when another person chimed in to state that the author of the original blog piece was “pretty”. Apparently, this became objectification of women as sexual objects and the man (presumably) was lectured, instructed, on why this was inappropriate. I freely admit I didn’t read the conversation because quite frankly, I am so incredibly tired of this victim thread/conversation types.

I’m a woman and by God I am sick of this crap from women! A man pays you a compliment and instantly you are a sexual object? Whatever happened to taking the compliment gracefully and moving on? If the behavior is so offensive, then you could have just muted or blocked the offending user instead, as I understand it from Belghast’s blog this morning, the poor bloke got called out on social media for being male.

Yes, it can be uncomfortable as any person when someone else pays you a compliment that is unexpected, unsolicited, and out of left field. But that doesn’t mean you’ve become a sexual object by any means. It used to be a simple act of common courtesy to pay compliments to others. Now it has become grounds for harassment, “objectionification”, and more.

Free speech isn’t just speech that makes you comfortable. Free speech means everyone is free to engage is speech regardless of the feelings of others. You have the choice to engage those whose speech you disagree with either verbally, written, or by ignoring said speaker. You do not have the right to shut down the speech of others because it makes you uncomfortable.

Whatever happened to civil dialogue between those that disagree? Whatever happened to difference of opinion that where freely expressed? Whatever happened to the knowledge that differing ideas are what founded this country and once made Her great?

Oh yeah, political correctness and hurt feelings run amuck happened. If you don’t like the speech of another, then there are better options than playing the victim card. Learn from the differences, engage the other person to see if you can find common ground, ignore them, or just walk away for a while. But please, for the sake of sanity and common dignity don’t play the victim card and deny someone else the right to their freedom of expression.

by Michelle Rene Goodhew. I am focused on the business of writing, being an artist, and general self improvement. I am seeking commissions as an artist doing portraits, illustration or graphic design. You can contact me by email: goodhewmichelle@gmail.com

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